I am happy to announce that we will be returning to 24 hour patrols on June 26th. We will also be staffing POINT at the begining of July as well. Another program that will be new to the county is the Mobile Crisis Response team which will handle calls for service that involve someone experiencing a mental health crisis. The Itemizer Observer did a good article on the new things that are going to happen around the office. Here is a LINK TO THE ARTICLE.

The Sheriff’s Office is going to be releasing statistical data to the public, from both the patrol and corrections divisions on a regular basis. I want to share this information with everyone so that you (the public) can begin to understand what the Sheriff’s Office does on a daily basis. I believe that communication between the Sheriff’s Office and the public it serves is a must and I want to allow people the opportunity to learn about the field of law enforcement.

Here is a snap shot of information regarding your Polk County Jail. The graphic below shows the number of people who have been arrested and lodged in the Polk County Jail (1164) from January 1st, 2016 through May 31st, 2016. The picture also shows how many people each law enforcement agency has brought into the facility. On the right side of the picture it shows information about our recidivism. On the bottom of the picture it shows the average length of stay (17 days) and the average daily population (129)of the Polk County Jail.

For context, every law enforcement agency in Polk County, including the Oregon State Police brings their arrestee to the Polk County Jail. Once at the jail, the Sheriff’s Office takes control of the arrestee from that law enforcement agency, thus making the Sheriff’s Office responsible for that person until they leave the jail. After the inmate is in the custody of the jail, jail staff facilitates getting that inmate to court and then cares for the inmate until they are bailed out or released by the judge.

Below are the latest statistics for the Sheriff’s Office for the month of May. During the month of May we responded to 1,540 calls for service, 685 of those were generated by 911 calls. Out of those 1540 calls, 1,350 were resolved without a criminal report taken. The remaining 190 resulted in a report number being generated and 48 resulted in arrest. There were 191 civil papers served and there were 335 traffic stops. Of those 335 stops, 162 resulted in citations being issued, while 173 were given warnings only.

We still have several Deputies at the Academy in training and some are expected back later this month at which time they will complete their field training with an Field Training Officer (FTO) while on patrol. The academy which is known as the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) is a 16 week long academy where every police officer must attend and successfully pass all the course and practical work. We plan to increase our service hours to 24 hour coverage in the very near future. I will keep the community updated as we move forward.

On May 20th, 2016 the Polk County Sheriff’s Office had six new reserve deputies graduate from the Mid Valley Reserve Training (MVRT) Program. The MVRT academy concluded its 7 month long reserve academy by graduating 22 volunteer reserve officers and deputies from 10 different agencies throughout the Willamette Valley. The participating agencies include the Marion, Yamhill, Benton and Polk County Sheriff’s Offices and the Dallas, Keizer, Lebanon, McMinville and Yamhill Police Departments. During this academy, reserve deputies volunteered their time to receive over 325 hours of Law Enforcement training that is very similar to what a full time deputy would receive at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) in Salem. “Some reserves use this program to gain experience to get hired as a full time deputy and some use it to volunteer within their community. Regardless of their intent, both avenues show a commitment to this profession and to their community”, Sheriff Mark Garton said.

MVRT was formed in 2007 during an effort to combine resources from participating agencies so those agencies could have a centralized and more efficient way to train their reserve deputies or officers. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has utilized MVRT since its creation as we have found it to be a very well organized program and it provides the reserves with the needed skills to do the job. Polk County reserve deputies dedicate many volunteer hours every week and the Sheriff’s Office would not be able to complete as many tasks in the community without them.

Immediately following the graduation Sheriff Garton swore in the six new reserve deputies, which brings the total number of reserve deputies to 13. The number of reserves in our program has been higher in the past, but with the passage of the public safety levy several were hired for corrections or patrol deputy positions. “Not everyone is able to serve their community in this way and I would like to thank all of the reserves for sacrificing time with their family to serve Polk County as a reserve deputy sheriff”, Sheriff Mark Garton said.

On May 20th, 2016 the Polk County Sheriff’s Office had three Corrections Deputies graduate from the Basic Corrections Academy at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST). Deputies Steene, Hofferber and Rierson all successfully completed the 6-week training program. Sheriff Mark Garton had the honor to be the guest speaker during the graduation ceremony today and urged the graduates to “retain their perspective they have today and to honor this profession by holding themselves to a higher standard everyday”.

During the academy training the new corrections deputies received training in defensive tactics, use of force, firearms, Oregon and Federal Law and communication skills. These deputies are all brand new to the profession and new to the Sheriff’s Office. The corrections academy training provides a good foundation of skills and knowledge for them to build upon when they return to their agency. When they return to the Polk County jail they must complete their 12-14-week field training program, which begins Monday. During their field training, they will be training alongside more experienced corrections deputies to ensure they fully understand all facets of being a corrections deputy in the Polk County jail. These three deputies were hired for the positions that were granted from the voter approved public safety levy.

Also, on May 13th, 2016 Deputy Mike Smith graduated from the basic police class at DPSST. Deputy Smith successfully completed a 16-week training program while at DPSST. During the basic police training Deputy Smith learned a variety of topics ranging from defensive tactics, emergency vehicle operations, Oregon criminal law, federal law, firearms and a wide variety of other topics. Deputy Smith has already completed his field training program prior to going to DPSST and started back to patrol two days after graduating. Deputy Smith was also hired from the positions granted in the voter approved public safety levy.

On June 10th, 2016 the Polk County Sheriff’s Office has four patrol deputies that will be graduating from the police academy. These deputies will need to complete some of their field training when they return from DPSST and after they complete their training it will allow the Sheriff’s Office to expand its services and patrol hours

On May 11th, 2016 Sheriff Mark Garton had the honor to present two lifesaving awards and a Certificate of Merit to members of the Lincoln County and Polk County Sheriff Offices’. The incident stemmed from a motor vehicle crash on March 2nd, 2016 at about 9:30 AM. Lincoln County Deputy Eric Larson and Support Services Specialist Shelby Baker were traveling from Lincoln County to Monmouth Oregon on Highway 223, south of Dallas. While near McTimmonds Cr. Rd, they observed an oncoming vehicle leave the shoulder of the roadway and collide with some trees.

The crashed vehicle immediately began smoking. Deputy Larson was joined by Polk County Reserve Deputy Eric Berry, who was also passing through the area. Fire and medical assistance were called, but the vehicle caught fire and immediate action was required. Deputy Larson and Deputy Berry discovered the vehicle damage and debris from the crash prevented quick access to the car, but they were able to force the door open with their hands and pull the driver, the sole occupant, to safety.
Immediately after the deputies removed the driver from the car the vehicle became engulfed in flames and two minutes later there was an explosion inside the vehicle. The driver of the car was Jon Carey, of Monmouth.

Because of the actions of Deputy Eric Larson and Reserve Deputy Eric Berry they were both presented with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office lifesaving awards during a Polk County Board of Commissioners meeting at the courthouse. A Certificate of Merit was also given to Shelby Baker for her actions during the rescue. Commissioner Jennifer Wheeler, along with Commissioners Ainsworth and Pope presented Eric with the Board of Commissioners Letter of Commendation because when the rescue occurred Eric Berry was working in the capacity of Polk County Surveyor.

The driver, Jon Carey was in attendance with his family during the awards presentation and said some brief remarks regarding the crash. While still in a wheel chair and recovering from his injuries from just over 2 months ago, he was very gracious and thankful for the actions of his rescuers and truly believed that they were meant to be in that exact place at that specific time and without them he would have died.

Listed below is the type of award each recipient received along with the inscription that is displayed on each of their awards.

Certificate of Merit Presented to Shelby Baker

Because of your assistance on March 2nd, 2016 while on scene of a motor vehicle crash on Highway 223 in Polk County the life of the driver, Jon Carey was saved and allowed to return to his family that day.

Life Saving Award Presented to Deputy Eric Larson

Deputy Larson, on March 2nd, 2016 you engaged in the life saving rescue of Polk County resident Jon Carey who was involved in a motor vehicle crash in rural Polk County. If it were not for your attentiveness and distinct actions at the scene by removing Mr. Carey who was seriously injured and trapped inside his car as it began to erupt in flames, he would have perished. The value of human life is unmeasurable and your actions that day allowed Mr. Carey to return to his family.

Life Saving Award Presented to Deputy Eric Berry

Deputy Berry, on March 2nd, 2016 you engaged in the life saving rescue of Polk County resident Jon Carey who was involved in a motor vehicle crash in rural Polk County. Even though you were not on duty as a deputy, you still responded to help as you were nearby. If it were not for your decisive and swift actions at the scene by removing Mr. Carey who was seriously injured and trapped inside the car as it began to erupt in flames, he would have perished. The value of human life is unmeasurable and your actions that day allowed Mr. Carey to return to his family that day.

Board of Commissioners’ Letter of Commendation Presented to Eric Berry, County Surveyor

WHEREAS, Eric Berry, is the County Surveyor and a member of the Sheriff’s Department Reserve Deputies; and

WHEREAS, Eric Berry, on March 2, 2016, responded quickly to the scene of a motor vehicle accident and executed the rescue of Mr. John Carey who was trapped in his vehicle, which caught fire; and

WHEREAS, Eric Berry’s willingness to promptly respond and take alert action, without regard of personal safety, which resulted in the saving of a life, is heroic and indicative of his high moral character; now therefore

BE IT RESOLVED that the Polk County Board of Commissioners recognizes and commends Eric Berry for his life saving actions.

Mental Health related services and training are a necessity in this day and because of that, Polk County sought out a grant to help establish a crisis team in Polk County. Recently the grant was approved and we will be moving forward with implementing this valuable program. The Statesman Journal did a good article about the Marion County crisis team, which we will be modeling our program after. Here is the link in case you missed it in the paper: MCT

On March 21st, 2016, 6 new members of the Polk County Search and Rescue team were sworn in by Sheriff Mark Garton. During the past several weeks this group of new volunteers have completed over 65 hours of training in all facets of Search and Rescue operations and are now certified through the State of Oregon. “To have people volunteer their time and effort for the people of Polk County is just one reason this community is a great place to live and work. Our volunteers are an invaluable resource and I want to thank them for what they do and for the amount of character they display on a daily basis”, Sheriff Garton said. For more information about our Search and Rescue (SAR) team please check out their website at: HERE

This article from the Statesman Journal helps show the impact that the public safety levy has had in Polk County. Without the levy, this case would not have had the great outcome that it did. Great Job for all of those who were involved.

Sheriff Mark Garton is excited to announce the formation of the Sheriff’s Advisory Team (SAT). This team is the first of its kind for the Sheriff’s Office. This team will consist of 9 citizen volunteers selected from throughout Polk County, representing people who work and live in all parts of Polk County. Sheriff Garton believes that connections between citizens and their Sheriff are very critical. This essential connection will help the Sheriff’s Office provide the correct services for the communities they serve.

The team will review current issues relating to law enforcement, quality of life issues and Sheriff’s Office programs, all which may affect their respective communities within Polk County. By reviewing these topics, it will ensure that the Sheriff’s Office provides effective and efficient law enforcement services to the people it serves.

Five members have already been selected to help begin this program. The four remaining positions will be appointed after a selection process occurs by the team. Citizens who are interested can turn in an application to the team who will review them and make a recommendation to Sheriff Garton for appointment. The current members are Grand Ronde Tribal Councilwoman Denise Harvey, Dallas City Councilman Bill Hahn, West Salem Neighborhood Association Co-Chairman Evan Sorce, West Salem resident Angie Hedrick and Dallas business woman and Falls City resident Amy Houghtaling.

The Sheriff’s Office Advisory Team will be an integral part of the Sheriff’s Office team. The team will assist the Sheriff’s Office in reaching its goals to incorporate citizen involvement, community policing, openness and accessibility in every facet of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. The advisory team is in place to provide advice and guidance as it pertains to the relationship between the office of Sheriff and the citizens of the county.

What Is Expected of SAT Members?

SAT members will be required to attend monthly/quarterly meetings. Each member will represent their community’s concerns and provide insight and guidance to the Sheriff. Most of all, each member will benefit as an individual from the knowledge they gain from learning about the Office of the Sheriff and the services rendered in their communities.

The new members that are selected will serve 2 year terms. SAT members will receive a minimum of 10 hours of training during the first six months of their appointment and they will receive ongoing training as well. The training will be conducted by members of the Polk County public safety system. Members of the SAT team will also undergo a background check as they may deal with sensitive law enforcement information throughout their term.

Who do I Contact to Participate?

If you want more information about SAT or are interested in learning more about the team, please contact Sheriff Mark Garton by emailing Garton.Mark@co.polk.or.us or calling 503-623-9251. An application can be found and downloaded HERE . Applications are due by March 9th, 2016 at 5 pm.